Fractured Illusions
by Kalarin
Summary: Yugi saved the world countless times, traveled to the past, and befriended a dead Pharaoh. Then he woke up. Alternate Universe.
1. Rise and Shine

You know the song, "Row, Row Your Boat?" What if it was right? What if life is "just a dream?"

In this alternate universe, Yugi will find out. He wakes up after the end of the Ceremonial Duel to a very different world than the one with which he has grown accustomed.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh.

-O-o-O-o-O-

The voices were all around Yugi, but he couldn't figure out where exactly they were coming from. Come to think of it, he couldn't figure out where he was either. The darkness of the space didn't help. He couldn't even tell if he was enclosed in a room or floating in space—the voices echoed, bouncing back and forth on what might be walls, or faded as if retreating across a vast expanse.

"Our duty to the Pharaoh is complete."

"So weird."

They sounded familiar. He deduced that they belonged to his friends (and long time opponents) but he couldn't pick out who was saying what. Mostly, they melted together with only a few phrases refusing to blend.

"Look, I think he's waking up." The usually perky female voice reverberated off his mind's walls. So he was in a room. Could it be his soul room? But that was impossible; the Millennium items no longer existed.

"Open your eyes, Yugi." The throaty male voice dissolved into the air. Maybe he wasn't in a room after all.

"You can do it." The female voice was like smoke from a locomotive.

"I don't believe it!" The male voice rattled in Yugi's head.

Of all the voices, these two were the only ones that never blended. Something about them forced Yugi to try to make out every word.

"You're halfway there," the female voice prodded.

"You can't back down now." The male voice pressed.

Yugi couldn't be sure, but he had a strong feeling these voices said things like this very often. He just couldn't remember where.

Then all was silent, except for a steady beeping. He was no longer in the dark and now he was seeing…red? He realized the red was his eyelids and opened his eyes. He was now looking at a bright light—a square yellowish light.

As his eyes focused on the fluorescent light above him, he shifted his arms. He was in a bed with rails on the sides. The beeping came from behind his head and despite the thick blanket, it was positively chilly.

"Yugi."

With much difficulty, he turned his head to the female voice's source. No longer in the void, he could figure out the direction perfectly and the unearthly echo was gone.

Téa Gardner and Seto Kaiba were sitting in chairs right next to his bed. He couldn't tell how long they'd been there, but it had to be a long time because Téa flexed her foot as if it had fallen asleep and Kaiba wore a well-worn jacket instead of his usual shiny trenchcoat.

"You're alive." Téa's voice wavered ever so slightly. Kaiba didn't appear to react much.

"Téa…what happened?" Yugi tried to lift his head, then was forced to lower it by a sharp neck pain. "Must've been serious. I hope the others are okay."

Both Téa and Kaiba looked at each other. "Others?" Téa mouthed. Kaiba didn't answer. He looked almost as out of it as Yugi felt.

"Y'know, Joey and Tristan?"

Both Téa and Kaiba looked off to the side, Téa looking uncomfortable, and Kaiba, looking almost angry. "They weren't there, Yugi," Kaiba answered, his tone hard, but not as harsh as Yugi usually heard it. "Strange," Yugi thought. "Whatever I was in had to be horrible, if even Kaiba's put off. Though, the Shadow Realm was pretty bad and he didn't give a crap." He surprised himself with the bitterness of that last thought.

"Do you need the nurse or anything?" Téa asked.

"I can't remember what happened," Yugi said after a silence that felt like a year. "How did I get here?"

"You had an accident," Téa started. She blinked hard. "You were-"

"Do you want to send him back under?" Kaiba interrupted sharply.

"Oh!" Téa looked embarrassed. "Sorry. I forgot about that." She turned back to Yugi. "The details aren't that important." Kaiba seemed to tense up when she said this. "We're just glad you're awake and alive."

Yugi blinked. "Not to be rude, but why are you here, Kaiba?"

Kaiba stared at Yugi with a hard look for an eternity before asking, "Why wouldn't I be?"

Téa looked at Yugi sideways. "He cares about you, Yugi."

"Oh. I didn't realize that."

It seemed to be the wrong thing to say because Kaiba glared at the door and Téa wrung her hands.

"I don't care, Téa; he clearly doesn't remember," Kaiba muttered. Yugi did a double take, then realized how unaccustomed to bright lighting he'd become. Was Seto Kaiba, in his rather blunt way, comforting Téa?

"Something really big must have happened," Yugi tried to lighten the mood. "You two are in the same room together, I'm in the hospital, and Joey and Tristan are nowhere in sight." Yugi noticed Téa's eyes go everywhere but into his own and Kaiba exhaled hard.

"What's wrong? Did something happen to them, too?"

"Yugi, we don't talk about Tristan." Téa massaged her temples.

"What? Why not, he's-"

"We just don't, okay?" Kaiba snapped.

"Oh, okay." Yugi wondered why Tristan was such a controversial topic, but decided not to press it right now. "Wonder what the Pharaoh would say about all of this."

Now Téa and Kaiba stared dead at Yugi like he'd just turned his IV fluid into liquid meth. It was making him want to burrow back into the hospital bed. Was he forgetting some sort of agreement to not talk about the incident with the shadow games? Why couldn't he talk about Tristan? What happened to put him in the hospital, anyway?

"What Pharaoh?" Téa asked slowly.

"You remember. He lived in my puzzle. He couldn't remember who he was. You went on a date with him once, Téa. You even dueled him, Kaiba! Multiple times."

"Dueled? As in, with swords?" Kaiba was incredulous, and so was Yugi. How could Kaiba forget about dueling?

"No, with cards. We were all playing this card game, called Duel Monsters. Both you and I were the best in the world and we kept playing each other, only it wasn't in a friendly way or anything. You were kind of intense about it."

Téa looked at Kaiba. "Any idea what he's talking about?"

Kaiba shook his head. "Not a clue."

"But…but…I remember it so clearly." Yugi clutched fists full of blanket. "You kept holding tournaments and…Joey was there, too! Or are we not allowed to talk about Joey?"

Téa and Kaiba just stared. "Talk about him all you want," Kaiba finally said.

"Well, he dueled, too. And you," he turned to Téa, "you always cheered us on! And you," he turned to Kaiba, "you didn't want anything to do with us. You used to call Joey a dog, too."

"The dog part sounds like me," Kaiba admitted.

"Unfortunately," Téa muttered.

"And Joey's best friend is…the one who shall not be mentioned. And he had a sister named Serenity. Does any of this make any sense?"

"That part does," Téa said.

"And you remember Duke Devlin?"

Téa still looked confused. Kaiba looked slightly annoyed. "Never heard of him," Kaiba said impatiently.

"Did you two hit your heads, too?" How could they forget someone who'd been through hell and back with them? And why wouldn't anyone talk about Tristan?

Both Téa and Kaiba averted their gaze. "I'm going to call your grandfather and tell him you're awake," Kaiba said. Then he and Téa went into the hall, leaving Yugi to his disjointed thoughts.

-O-o-O-

Téa sat in one of the plastic chairs just outside the room. The door was open just enough for Téa to peek in at him inconspicuously. A couple yards away, Kaiba was on the payphone, talking with Solomon Muto. He tried to keep his voice low enough that Yugi wouldn't hear, but loud enough for Solomon's aging ears.

"He looks okay...He can talk and he's obviously awake, but his memory is all wrong…He acts like he remembers us, but he's getting things wrong. He's also talking about duels, Pharaohs, and card games…He doesn't seem brain-damaged…No, otherwise, he's fine."

When he hung up, Téa was still sneaking peeks into the room. "Why can't you just go in and talk to him?" Kaiba asked.

"I don't know." Téa slid back into her chair.

"He understands language."

Téa shuddered. "I want to, but it's too weird. It's like it's not him in there."

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "It's not like aliens came in and swapped his body out. It's the same hardware and software, but the wiring's wrong."

Téa ran her hands through her hair. "You and your machines." She glanced over at the door. "You think you can fix him? That'd be a funny role swap."

Kaiba's eyebrows knitted. "Who says either of us needs fixing? He'll remember things properly when he goes back to living normally."

Téa looked into the room. "If he's still weird, I'll still talk to him. I just don't know what I'd say."

"Seriously. It's not that hard. Say what you always would." Kaiba entered the room, Téa close behind.

Yugi looked up when they entered, though not at them. It was more like he was staring through them, or like his eyes were just floating in his head. Hopefully, he wasn't about to go under again.

"Your grandfather will be here soon," Kaiba told him.

Yugi seemed relieved but still dazed. "Oh, good. I hope he isn't too worried. I can't wait to tell him all about Egypt."

Kaiba shot Téa an exasperated look. Not this again.

"You've never even been to Egypt, Yugi," Kaiba said.

"Of course I have. You went too—though we didn't go together. You wouldn't go until after Bakura sent you the eye."

"Since when did that English kid send me disembodied organs?"

"Not an actual eye. A gold one—the Millennium Eye," Yugi said.

"Millennium Eye. You mean like this?" Téa produced a gold plastic eye from her pocket.

Yugi's eyes goggled. At this rate, Kaiba thought Yugi'd kill his eye muscles before he had a relapse.

"But…but they were all destroyed!"

Téa looked confused. "How could someone destroy millions of eyes? They're kind of everywhere."

Yugi face was even more stricken. Kaiba was beginning to wonder just where Yugi's brain went during the month-long coma.

"See, it's a game. You love these things." Téa sounded excited. "Here, you do this." She pressed a button on the side of the eye and it fell to pieces, connected by a single string. "And then you put it back together by pulling the pieces up and down the string." She reassembled a few of the pieces to demonstrate. "It's a puzzle."

Yugi's head snapped up at the final word. "The Millennium puzzle!" He clawed at his pajama top. "If the eye is still here, where is it?"

"It's at home," a fourth voice answered. They all looked up to see Solomon Muto at the door. "You can work on it as soon as you're allowed to come home—that is, if you're feeling up to it." He crossed the room to stand by his grandson's bed. He brushed Yugi's blond bangs from his forehead. "How're you feeling?"

Yugi smiled up at his grandfather. "A little confused, but fine otherwise." He gave a sigh of relief. "The puzzle's all I have of the Pharaoh."

Solomon looked confused, then a knowing look crossed his face after he made eye contact with Kaiba and Téa.

Yugi went on. "You know, the other me? His name was Atem, but for the longest time, I kept calling him 'Yami.'"

Solomon grinned. "I know someone who would be quite flattered to hear you named a Pharaoh after him."

It was Yugi's turn to look confused. "Really? Who?"

"Your brother, Yami."

-O-o-O-o-O-


	2. Yugi comes home, physically

Here's chapter two. The plot thickens.

Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh.

-O-o-O-o-O-

Solomon asked about the memory problems. The doctors couldn't find anything physically wrong with Yugi, so they chalked his memory issues up to the fact that he was still getting used to being awake. "He'll need a while to come out of it, but other than that, he's neurologically sound," they determined.

Yugi overheard some of it while he was getting dressed in the changing room, but he thought all this was pointless. Of course there was nothing wrong with him. He was alive, which was apparently amazing, judging how everyone reacted when he woke up. It must have been a terrible accident, if he nearly died and everyone was reluctant to give him the details of it. He was told that he had a serious head injury, which had healed while he was out, and that he'd miraculously not sustained any other injury. He was expecting at least a broken leg or two, given everyone's concern, but maybe he was just lucky like that.

They even gave him a short test on current events and personal details, based on the information given to them by Solomon, Yami, and Yugi's friends. He passed the current events part with flying colors: he knew the president, the name of the country in which he lived, his own name, his school, all of his personal information.

The relations test was a little more difficult.

"Who is Yami Muto?" the doctor asked.

Yugi thought for a while. This was a tough one. "He's like my brother. He's definitely my friend. He protects me from everything."

"Who are Téa Gardner and Joey Wheeler?"

"They're my best friends," Yugi answered without hesitation. "Are you going to ask about Tristan next?"

"No, but it's good that you remember him. Who is Seto Kaiba?"

"Kaiba is…" Yugi paused. Images of their many duels played in his mind like old videotapes. He wasn't sure if Kaiba was a friend, or a very minor enemy. He'd think they were on good terms after all they'd been through together, but he could never be sure with Kaiba. Téa did say that Kaiba cared about him, so he must be nearing the friend level.

"Our relationship is complicated," Yugi finally answered.

Yugi was deemed able to come home the next day.

"You were in that coma for a long time," Solomon said on the drive home.

"You don't say," Yugi said absently, staring out the window. He was sure he'd be able to see the KaibaCorp building from here. That was how he used to navigate Domino City during the time when new buildings were going up everywhere. If Kaiba moved it, he'd probably have a lot of trouble finding his way. Especially since Domino City looked so different. Weren't there more newer, taller buildings? Most of these buildings were stumpy and crumbling. And where did all these vacant lots and abandoned houses and storefronts come from?

They were coming up on Chess Avenue. Wait, Chess Avenue? Wasn't this where Kaibaland was? Yugi craned his neck, but he saw nary a Blue Eyes White Dragon all down the block. He sat back in his seat. Maybe he'd missed it. Or maybe Kaiba had moved it, too.

How long was he out, anyway?

He saw the familiar roof of the game shop ahead. Solomon pulled into the driveway as Yugi looked around. At least the street he lived on looked somewhat the same.

"It sure is going to be quiet without the Pharaoh to talk to," Yugi thought as they went inside.

As he followed Solomon to the living room, Yugi took note of the games stacked up in the front room and the cash register. This was normal, at least. He was relieved to see that he couldn't have been out of it for too long if the shop still looked the way he last remembered it. The display of "Severed Hand" games was still in the window and they had just arrived this week. They were dusty, though. That would change when he started helping out again.

"Yugi." A familiar deep voice broke his concentration.

Yugi looked to the stairs and choked on his own saliva. The Pharaoh was standing in front of him, wearing a black t-shirt like a normal boy, and he wasn't transparent.

Yugi stood like a rock while Yami descended the rest of the stairs. Yugi's eyes went unfocused when Yami wrapped his arms around him. He could feel the body heat radiating from the older boy. It was exactly like he was a person with working organ systems and not a ghost.

"I was so afraid I'd lost you," Yami said softly. He stepped back and saw Yugi's face. "What's wrong? Did Kaiba do something at the hospital yesterday?" He clamped his hands down on Yugi's shoulders. "If he did…" Yami's voice got ominously low.

Yugi shook his head. "You're actually here. And you're alive."

Yami's brows knitted. "Why wouldn't I be alive? You were the one in the accident."

"Everyone keeps saying that." Yugi absently looked toward the window at the strange but familiar cityscape. "But they're all acting like they have head injuries," he thought. He turned back to Yami. "How did you come back from the dead?"

Yami blinked rapidly. "I…Do you mean that metaphorically?"

"How did you come back after walking through the doors to the afterlife?"

Yami stared at Yugi until he remembered the conversation he'd had at breakfast. "This must be what Grandpa was talking about, his scrambled memory," he thought. "I should make sure he knows the truth—about everything."

"While I am flattered that you think highly enough of me to name a Pharaoh after me, I'm not an ancient king. I'm just your older brother," Yami explained. "But maybe you should write those ideas down. They'd make a great story."

Yugi made eye contact. He would have reminded Yami that he'd kept a journal, but he wasn't sure he'd listen.

-O-o-O-

Yami peered down the hall to the light coming from the crack of Yugi's door.

He hadn't even come down for dinner. He'd holed himself up in his room, only coming out a few times to ask where his journal was. Then he'd asked for his "other journal," despite the fact that he only had the one. When Yami pointed this out, Yugi just went back to his room, mumbling that he "must've left it in his soul room."

The Muto residence had exactly six rooms, and none of them could be called this "soul" room (wouldn't souls live in bodies?), so Yami had no idea what Yugi was talking about.

Yugi also kept calling him Pharaoh Atem and bowing slightly every time he passed Yami in the hall. It was cute the first few times, but after a while it got worrisome. Especially when it was followed by an intense round of staring that ended with Yugi walking away and asking himself, "Why can't he read my mind?" Yami made a note to look up the effects of morphine to see if hallucinating was one of them.

Yami would have gladly explained reality to Yugi, but he wasn't sure how he'd begin. He wasn't even sure if he should. Maybe it was something Yugi would get over, like when the effects of the painkillers fully wore off. Perhaps Yugi simply needed to adjust to waking life after being in a coma for such a long time. He'd have plenty of time for that over the coming summer vacation.

On the other hand, maybe the shock of it would send Yugi back into a catatonic state, or at least crush him. Yami definitely didn't want that, especially since Yugi seemed to have confidence for the first time in a long time. But it would be confidence based on false pretenses. He couldn't let Yugi live a lie, not to mention a lie that nobody else would understand. How did Yugi's brain arrive at this string of events, anyway?

"Kaiba…" Yami's muscles tightened. "All that time he spent visiting the hospital…"

Yami remembered (from his many all-nighters over the past few months) coma patients could hear what was going on around them, even if they weren't fully aware. "I wouldn't put it past him to plant these thoughts in Yugi's head. He needed some way of fighting the upper hand Yugi may have over him. Either that or he has a twisted sense of humor."

Yami went back to his room. He'd have to keep his eye on Yugi for the next few days; he was certain to be more vulnerable to Kaiba's influence in his current state.

Meanwhile, Yugi burned through notebook after notebook. The clock read 1:30 AM. He didn't care. He had to reproduce as much of his adventures as he could remember before the memories fell apart like puzzle pieces.

He stopped at the trip to Egypt. He could take a break for the night here; he was sure he wouldn't forget that. Besides, he needed at least a few hours of sleep. He'd have to get up pretty early if he wanted to schedule a meeting with Kaiba.

-O-o-O-o-O-


	3. The First Few Puzzle Pieces

Here's chapter three. This story will involve a pairing with two males, but it will not be graphic and romance is not really the main focus. Also, I will do my best to have the pairing make sense for the plot and keep the parties involved in-character.

Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh.

-O-o-O-o-O-

"Yugi's back? Really?"

Téa and Joey stood outside in the vacant lot behind the school. With the squatters and the loitering kids who definitely would not be continuing into the school, it wasn't the most private place. But in Joey's trailer park, you couldn't drop a pin without a neighbor crying noise pollution.

"He woke up two days ago and came home yesterday," Téa said.

"Huh. And I missed it all."

"I would've called you, but Kaiba was there."

"Oh." Joey said coolly. "Then it _is_ a miracle Yugi came home in one piece."

"Don't act like that. I think Kaiba actually feels bad about what he did," Téa argued.

"Sure he did. Just like he actually felt bad after…you know." Joey let his eyes glaze over as he watched a plastic bag floating on the wind. "No wonder Yami hardly lets him in the house. Now who's the dog?" Joey's laugh was uncharacteristically weak.

"He really does, Joey. Especially since…" Téa looked around, then leaned in close, voice lowered. "Yugi mentioned _him_ when we were visiting the hospital and Kaiba nearly snapped."

Joey stared at Téa, wide-eyed. "Yugi knows we don't talk about that. Why'd he bring it up?"

The kids across the yard looked up from their card game. Téa took Joey by the arm and led him through the obstacle course of bottle glass and food wrappers along the side of the school building.

"That's the thing," she continued as they walked. "Yugi was acting strange, like he didn't even remember it. He kept talking about dueling with cards and going to Egypt."

Joey raised an eyebrow. "O-kay."

"He said that Yami was a Pharaoh who lived in a toy puzzle, and that we all went to Egypt and that both of you used to duel people with cards, whatever that means."

Joey laughed nervously. "I think that means the hospital gave him some awesome drugs." He looked around to make sure nobody was listening before joking, "you think he'll share 'em?"

"He also mentioned someone named Duke Devlin." Téa shrugged. "I have no idea who that is. Do you know him?"

"Er..." Joey looked off to the side, remembering the name from the dirty video ("Roll My Blue Dice: The Sequel") he'd loaned Yugi before the coma. "I don't know him, personally, either." He scratched his neck, sheepishly. "That's pretty weird. That dueling with cards thing sounds kinda cool, though."

"It gets weirder. According to Yugi's memory, he did it regularly. And with Kaiba, too."

"Heh, heh, I thought he would," Joey chuckled lecherously.

"I meant, they dueled with cards a lot, pervert!" Téa said. "Y'know, it's not very nice to talk about your friend's sex life behind his back. Especially if he doesn't remember it," Téa mock-scolded.

"Yeah, I'm just kidding." Joey absently kicked a discarded beer can. "Yugi wouldn't do that with Kaiba. Not yet, anyway." He grew serious again. "He really doesn't remember…you know?"

"He brought it up like it was nothing. He acted like it never even happened, like Tristan was going to walk in any second." Téa noticed Joey flinch when she named he-who-shall-not-be-mentioned. "Sorry."

Joey stared at the ground. "S'okay."

"Even weirder, he remembered some things, but not others. Like, he remembered Serenity and the rest of us, but he didn't even remember that he and Kaiba were friends. I wanted to tell him everything, but I didn't know where to start," Téa continued. "Who knows how much of his memory got mixed up with his coma dream?"

"Well, that doesn't matter as long as we can help him remember it, right?" Joey suggested hopefully. "He can't go around with the wrong idea about things—at least not any more than usual."

Téa gave Joey a hard look at that last bit. "Focus on Yugi, Joey, not on what he's doing with Kaiba." She looked worried again. "Do we have to tell him everything?"

Joey shrugged. "Why not?"

"Even what happened the week before?"

Joey rolled a rock around with his foot. "He has to know about it sometime, Téa. We can't protect him from it forever."

Téa looked down and away. "I know. He seemed so happy, though."

Joey put his hands on Téa's shoulders. "We'll help him get over it. It'll be okay."

"Yeah." Téa gave a small smile. "But we can't tell him right away. We have to take it slowly and delicately."

Joey grinned. "It just so happens 'slowly and delicately' is my middle name."

"But last week in shop class, you tried to hammer in a screw."

"The threads were worn. I had to improvise."

Téa looked at her watch. "We'd better hurry or we'll be late."

They continued up the battered concrete steps and into the school.

"Why did your shop teacher give you partner projects, anyway?" Téa asked as they walked the halls. They reflexively brushed the flaking puke green paint and small chunks of plaster from their hair and clothes.

"I dunno. Something about how team members are like tools and we need all of them." Joey snickered at the forced metaphor. "My team member was definitely a tool."

"Joey Wheeler, if you continue to talk smack about Yugi's other friends-"

"Okay, I'll quit it. But seriously, the guy should know by now. Me and Kaiba do not work together well, no matter how good we are at that class." Joey turned to enter the classroom, Téa following close behind.

As was usual for a half hour before class, the room was empty. The school seemed like a ghost town, just like it had for the past month without Yugi. They didn't bother to turn on the lights; half the bulbs were blown and there was enough light coming into the window. Besides, they didn't need the sallow cast of the fluorescent lights this early in the morning.

Téa looked out the dusty window and saw a familiar dark auburn-haired boy trudging toward the entrance. "How are we going to get Kaiba to not tell Yugi everything?" Téa asked.

Joey ran his finger over the obscenities carved into his chair. "I don't think he'll be in any rush to tell Yugi about…that thing, especially not after their fight. At least, not if he's as smart as Yugi says he is."

"If he does want to, though?"

Joey put his head on the desk, his hair flopping over a vulgar drawing. "Then we're screwed like that lopsided table."

-O-o-O-

Yugi woke up to silence and light streaming through the overhead window.

"Weird." He sat up. "I know it's Daylight Savings Time, but I don't think it's supposed to be this light this early." He looked at the clock and jumped.

"Eleven o' clock?" He flew out of bed and into his clothes, not even bothering to close the bedroom door.

He was fastening his backpack shut when Solomon walked through the door. "And just where do you think you're going, young man?"

"Can't talk now, Grandpa. I have to find Kaiba." Yugi tried to duck out the door, but Solomon grabbed his arm.

"Oh, no, you don't. You still need your rest, according to the doctor. Speaking of which, why was your alarm set for 5:00 AM?"

"Because I needed to get up early to talk to Kaiba." Yugi fidgeted, glancing toward the door. Maybe if he promised a duel, Kaiba would see him today.

Confusion passed over Solomon's face. Yugi was used to this by now. "I didn't realize Kaiba would be awake at five, let alone coherent."

Yugi didn't have time to figure out what that meant, because Solomon was dragging him back toward the bed. "You don't need to be rough-housing with that Kaiba kid. Back to bed with you."

"But what about school?"

"Don't worry about that. I'm sure you can get your assignments from Téa. Perhaps a break from all that stress will help your memory."

Yugi paused. As much as he really needed to get to school, he would appreciate a break. Maybe he could finish writing about his trip to Egypt. And maybe later, his grandfather would let him go out for a while—with Yami as a chaperone, of course.

He settled down with his journal and continued to write about Egypt. The words seemed to fly from his brain to the pen, across the page until he came to the point where Kaiba joined them. He could remember everything before, but the memories surrounding the boat ride to the Millennium Stone were blurred all to hell. It was like trying to use a focus knob with Vaseline covered hands: clarity slipped from his fingers and hippocampus. Bits of a scene would flicker in his mind's eye before fizzling into the darkness created by his closed eyes: exploring Egypt with his friends; Bakura's wicked grin; Kaiba's hands grabbing his collar.

Yugi jumped. That last one felt a little too real, as if it had happened recently. He could actually feel Kaiba's hands against his neck, hear his growl, almost see his snarling face. The odd thing was, it was mostly a blur. While he distinctly felt Kaiba's hands on his collar, he couldn't make out what Kaiba was saying, Kaiba's face was a blur except for the mad gleam in his blue eyes, and there was a strong scent of alcohol that Yugi was certain would have been out of place.

"I can't just sit here at home." Yugi got out of bed and put on his shoes. "I have to talk to Kaiba." He looked at the clock: a quarter past twelve. They'd be breaking for lunch right now and he could drop by the school and at least arrange to talk to Kaiba at a later date.

"I hope he actually stayed at school for lunch," Yugi thought, stashing his journal in his dresser.

He bounded downstairs and noticed the silence. He went into the kitchen and found a note from Solomon saying that he was running errands. After scrawling a note of his own, he ran out the kitchen door. He was sure he could remember the way to school. Even if the Kaiba Corp building had moved, the school had to be in the same place.

He was slightly put off by the unfamiliar scenery. Instead of new storefronts and highly polished edifices, along the road to Domino High School were old, boarded-up, or just plain decrepit buildings.

Yugi hopped over the stray cinderblocks, then ran around the car under which they once sat. He couldn't remember Domino being this unkempt, but in the back of his mind, he was unsurprised.

He stopped to let a rusty car cross the intersection. Still no sign of the Kaiba Corp building. He was starting to wonder if he was even going the right way. Or maybe he _had_ forgotten where the school was, too?

He crossed the street and saw the signs indicating that this was, in fact, a school zone. He was right after all, maybe. He followed the signs to Domino High.

Except, this building couldn't be the right one. Domino High was fairly newly built. This place looked like it had been around since the Cold War. It sort of looked like the Cold War had happened there, too. Like, an arms race, only with litter instead of nuclear weapons. The general layout looked the same, but the details were so far off, Yugi had to check the rusty sign twice, then thrice to be sure.

He slipped through the chain-link gate like a spy in the enemy base. "How am I going to get past the hall monitors without getting caught?"

Yugi decided to sneak around the back. He was grateful for his lack of height as he walked under the windows. As long as the security guards and monitors didn't look down, he'd be all right.

As he grew closer to the back, the sound of several teenagers grew louder. Yugi looked at his watch. They'd have finished lunch and would be outside by now.

"I can at least visit the others if I don't see Kaiba," Yugi thought, continuing past the dumpsters to the back yard.

Observing the scene, Yugi wondered if these were students at the school, or just loitering kids playing hooky. Scattered clusters of kids milled around the yard in a disorderly fashion. A small group at the edge seemed to be absorbed in a game of craps. A few couples took the opportunity to fondle each other behind a shack with a rusted blue roof. The two hall monitors were nowhere in sight. When Yugi crept closer to inspect the smoke coming from the empty pool, he saw why; they and a few other students sat at the bottom, passing a couple joints around the group.

The most baffling thing about the scene, however, was the students' clothes. Why wasn't anyone wearing a school uniform?

He spotted Joey's blond mop sticking up above a bush behind the pool. "I'll hang out with them until lunch is over."

"Forget about homework. I'm going to see Yugi as soon as we get out," Joey said. Now that Yugi was behind the bush, he could see Joey and Téa standing together with their backs to him.

"You can see me right now," Yugi said, stepping further into the yard.

Joey and Téa jumped slightly and turned around. Like the rest of the students, neither of them wore a school uniform. Joey's green jacket was more vibrant than the wilted bush behind them.

"Hey, Yuge! How was the other side?" Joey asked.

Yugi smiled. "I don't remember much of it, but I'm sure it was a trip."

"Uh-oh." Joey looked at Téa.

"Not yet," Téa said. "Yugi, I thought you were supposed to be resting."

"Téa, it's a miracle he's even alive! We oughta be celebrating the fact that he's up and about," Joey said. He looked back at the school. "Nothing important's happening after sixth period, right?"

"Well, I didn't want to disrupt the school day or anything," Yugi said sheepishly.

"What are you doing here?"

Yugi looked up at the newcomer. Towering over him was Seto Kaiba. Like Joey and Téa, he wore street clothes. But it was what he wasn't wearing that gave Yugi pause. If uniforms weren't required for today, why wasn't Kaiba wearing his high-tech white trenchcoat?

"I just came to-"

"You're supposed to be at home," Kaiba interrupted. Yugi could see Kaiba's hand twitch slightly against his worn over-shirt. "You nearly died."

"Kaiba!" Téa scolded. Kaiba stared wearily at her, a far cry from the glare Yugi was sure he'd give.

"You got a problem with Yugi coming to see his friends?" Joey stepped up to Kaiba.

Kaiba stared him down. "No, but his grandfather might. I distinctly remember him saying 'no school for at least a week' back in the hospital."

"I just remembered," Yugi said. "Grandpa will probably be back soon."

"Yuge…You didn't sneak out just to see us, did you?" Joey asked coyly.

Yugi scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, I kind of did."

Joey grinned. "I'm rubbing off on ya."

Kaiba rolled his eyes.

Yugi tittered. "I should get home before he does."

"Yeah, you should," Kaiba agreed. "And I'll make sure you get there."

"Um, I think I can get home on my own," Yugi started.

"I know you can. But I'm going to show you a shortcut."

Yugi drew back a little. Did he really want to be alone with Kaiba on a possibly unfamiliar route?

He looked at Téa, who gave him an "It's okay" nod. It must be safe, he thought.

"I guess I'll go with Kaiba, then," Yugi said.

Joey backed off from Kaiba. "Okay. Bye, Yugi." Téa waved.

Yugi walked over to Kaiba. The bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch period.

"Do you need to get excused from class?" Yugi asked Kaiba.

Kaiba sniffed. "Not going to bother." Behind them, Téa made a "tsk" sound.

-O-o-O-

"Stay by me, keep your eyes open, and don't let anyone get too close," Kaiba told Yugi as they set off.

"What kind of shortcut is this, anyway?" Yugi asked, looking around. The vacant lot they walked through looked more jungle than urban with grass Yugi could've hid in. Hell, Kaiba could have hid in it and you'd never see him.

"The kind that I take." Kaiba put a hand on Yugi's head and turned it forward. "Don't look back either."

Yugi wasn't exactly sure whom Kaiba was warning him about; he almost expected a tumbleweed to roll through the grey streets. Except for the occasional straggler, Yugi hadn't seen one person to watch out for, let alone a suspicious-looking one. But maybe that was the danger. The suspicious characters were the ones you didn't see.

"Why wasn't anyone wearing their uniforms?" Yugi asked as they crossed the street.

Kaiba's brow furrowed. "If they can't afford to fix the place, how can they afford uniforms?"

"Oh." No wonder Domino High looked busted.

Kaiba led him to an alley between two storefronts. Kaiba paused just before the alley, poked his head around the corner of the building and listened. "The coast is clear," he said after a few seconds. He walked down the alley, Yugi trailing reluctantly.

At the end was an assortment of crates, trash cans, and other debris in front of a fence about as tall as Kaiba. Through a few cracks, Yugi could see grass and a residential block in the near distance.

"We're gonna go over that wall," Kaiba told Yugi, "but we need to move some stuff first."

Kaiba got to work rearranging the debris into a makeshift staircase. Yugi stepped in to help after a few seconds, wondering why Kaiba couldn't just call his limo. He ultimately figured it'd be rude to ask. Maybe this was applicable to dueling and Kaiba was testing him by making him climb on alley trash.

Yugi dragged some tires around the base of the staircase. Kaiba paused to look quizzically at him.

"They're for padding, in case we fall," Yugi explained.

Kaiba seemed impressed—he almost half-smiled. "Good thinking."

Soon, they'd built a pile to climb on. They climbed to the top and Kaiba vaulted over the fence. Yugi swung his legs over, then let himself drop. He landed on his feet, thankfully.

They were about to continue when they heard a voice from the rusty, out of use car on cinderblocks. "Kaiba."

"I know that voice," Yugi thought. He turned around and standing behind him was Alister.

"The guy who blamed Kaiba for his little brother's capture!" Yugi's mind raced back to the fight with the Doom bikers. "I thought he left Domino."

"So ruining my family isn't enough for you and now you have to trespass." Alister's eyes weren't staring daggers, but ten-foot spikes at Kaiba.

"Not this crap again," Kaiba growled under his breath. "Like I pay attention to what my father does."

"But it's your fault they took my brother."

Kaiba's hands curled into fists. Yugi stepped in front of him.

"Alister, I don't know exactly what happened, but it's not fair to blame Kaiba for what his father did. He has nothing to do with your brother," Yugi said in the calmest voice he could muster.

Alister stared at him like his hair had transformed into a giant pot leaf. "Who the hell are you?"

"Someone who needs to keep his head down and his mouth shut." Kaiba pulled Yugi back towards himself.

"But-" Yugi started.

"This isn't your fight. Stay out of it," Kaiba whispered harshly. Alister was still standing there, staring at them both. Kaiba turned to leave. "I had no control over the situation," he said to Alister before walking off.

Yugi glanced back. Alister had gotten back in the rusty car and was smoking a cigarette.

"Didn't he realize it wasn't Kaiba's fault after the Orichalcos mess?" Yugi asked himself. "Is there evil afoot again?"

Yugi quickened his pace to keep up with Kaiba's long strides. For the next minute while they walked toward the houses, there was no sound except for the grass and bottle glass crunching beneath their feet.

When they were nearly at the end of the grassy lot, Kaiba stopped and turned to face Yugi. "I know you were trying to help back there, but that fight with Alister is none of your business." He started to walk off again, then paused when he realized Yugi wasn't next to him. "I told you, walk by me."

Yugi ran the few steps to Kaiba. Did Kaiba just acknowledge an attempt to help him? Their relationship must've been more complicated than Yugi first thought.

They walked between the houses to the sidewalk. They turned left and came face to face with Bandit Keith.

Keith glared at Kaiba, not completely angrily, but more disapprovingly. Kaiba stared him down the best he could while walking away. Yugi noticed that Keith's eyes never left Kaiba, at least not while they were walking past him.

Kaiba put his hand on the back of Yugi's head. "Quit staring and keep walking," he snapped.

Yugi obeyed. What beef could Kaiba possibly have with Bandit Keith?

"We're almost at your street," Kaiba added. "We're four blocks away."

As they turned to cross the street, Yugi managed to catch a glimpse of Bandit Keith's retreating figure. Keith looked over his shoulder, but this time, he was staring like he was trying to solve a particularly frustrating puzzle.

And he was looking at Yugi.

-O-o-O-

After Yugi was safely inside the game shop, Kaiba set off for his own house. He took the exact same shortcut he'd shown Yugi, except he avoided passing Alister's car. He didn't know why Alister was so territorial about the area around that car when his actual home was in the trailer park across town.

He gazed up the street. He could see the Domino High clock tower jutting up over the rest of the buildings. He considered returning, but turned back to his original course. He'd skipped enough days that they wouldn't care if he missed another. He certainly wouldn't.

He continued without delay until he came to the street behind his house. He walked about halfway down, looked around to make sure nobody was watching, and ran across the grassy strip between the houses to his own backyard. He gave a wide berth to the pile of burnt wood at the edge of the yard.

The silence of the house was deafening in comparison to the slamming screen door. He'd have a couple hours of downtime before the end of school. He sank into a chair at the kitchen table.

"Why don't they all get off my ass?" he thought, glaring at the clock over the stove. "He needs to get it through his thick skull that I'm not coming back."

He glanced out the window. From his seat, he could see the burnt lumber pile. He jerked his chair away; that was the last thing he wanted to see right now.

So Alister was still pissed at him. Fine, let him be pissed. Didn't change the fact that none of that crap was his fault. Kaiba had no idea what Mikey got into and no idea that his father had anything to do with it, so Alister was wasting his time and energy.

Though, he wouldn't have been surprised that his father would have been dumb enough to sell to kids. Kaiba had made a lot of mistakes lately, but he'd never done anything that incredibly stupid.

"Bastard. I'm glad he's gone," Kaiba smirked at the memory of the cop cars on their lawn, Mokuba's bewildered expression upon seeing the backseat passenger, and the resulting destruction of the old shack. It was a snafu, all right, but it needed to happen. One day, he'd tell Mokuba everything, answer all his questions about the incident and more. No longer would his baby brother sometimes look at him sideways.

Kaiba's mood deflated when he remembered his accomplice in the plot. None of it would have been remotely possible if Keith hadn't planted the right ideas in Sozoji's head to convince him to make that phone call. He felt a knot form in his stomach at the thought of being in debt to Keith.

"Great. Now he has a hold on me." Kaiba rose shakily and went to the fridge. This was way too much, especially after the past week. He didn't need quiet; he needed a drink. He dug in his pockets for his fake ID. He stood, turned around, and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the note, written in neat cursive, on the fridge: "You can do it, Big Brother."

He stood as if he'd been sitting in the freezer for a while. He stopped looking for his ID. He opened the fridge and pulled out a soda instead. He couldn't buy beer and get drunk now; he had to pick Mokuba up from school, and besides, it wasn't yet five o' clock.

Meanwhile, at the game shop, Yugi had found the box with the Millennium Puzzle and was about to open it when he realized he'd completely forgotten to ask Kaiba for a meeting.

-O-o-O-o-O-


	4. Yugi's First Reality Check

Here's chapter four. Enjoy.

-O-o-O-o-O-

The hands on the clock might as well have been made of lead. Too bad time itself didn't grow a lead foot and floor it all the way to three o' clock.

Joey was doodling naked women in his notebook. Téa was surprised he could even see—the shades over the windows were thick and the biology film was at one of the poorly-lit scenes. During the lighter scenes, she was able to get some homework done; the film was incredibly dull. Not even the teacher seemed to care, since he was currently snoring away at his desk. Téa was certain that nothing in the movie would appear on the test.

"If the heart is your body's engine, then your brain is the joystick." The overly perky narrator announced.

Téa snickered at the comparison. Kaiba might have gotten a kick out of this if he'd stayed in class. He'd at least get to laugh at all the mixed metaphors involving cars and machines, if not at the outdated hygiene advice.

"Wash your hands after touching doorknobs; the syphilis can hide anywhere and attack anyone, even you." On screen, a teenaged couple snuggled on a park bench to a cheerful piano tune. The music switched to a minor key as a lanky man in a t-shirt labeled "syphilis" leapt from the bushes behind the bench. The couple shrieked and fled down the path, running deeper into the park. The human syphilis virus box-vaulted over the bench and chased them, wielding something that looked like a deflated inner tube.

Seriously, when was this movie from? "That's not how viruses work at all," Téa thought. "Silly movie."

The last bell jerked everyone out of the daze. The teacher snorted and sat up. "We'll finish this next class. You're dismissed."

Joey and Téa waited until they were out of the school's hallways (which resembled cans of sardines more closely everyday) to discuss their after-school plans. They had managed to dodge and weave their way down the steps toward the front gate when they heard a familiar young voice over the din of their classmates. "Téa! Joey! Over here!"

They craned their necks over the crowds to find the source. By the bushes at the edge of the courtyard, Mokuba waved to them. Kaiba stood a couple feet behind him, staring off into the distance.

Joey and Téa made their way, dodging the foot traffic coming out of the school, to the Kaiba brothers.

"Mokuba wanted to see you," Kaiba said.

"Seto told me Yugi woke up," Mokuba added.

Joey and Téa exchanged looks. They hadn't decided if they should tell Mokuba about the memory issue. It might be disturbing.

"He can handle it," Kaiba muttered, seeing the look.

"Handle what?" Mokuba asked.

"Yugi did wake up," Téa started.

"But what? I know there's a 'but' coming. Really, I can take it," Mokuba pressed.

"He doesn't remember things right," Joey finished.

Mokuba blinked. "You mean, amnesia?"

"No, it's not exactly that. Um…" Téa thought for a while. "He said some weird things at the hospital when we went to see him. He recognized us and he remembered his own name, but he kept talking about a game where he dueled with cards and thought he went to Egypt. It was like he remembered his personal stuff and relationships, but not actual events."

"Not all his relationships," Kaiba added quietly.

Mokuba looked up at Kaiba. "Who could he have possibly forgotten?"

"No one important, Mokuba. I'm sure he remembers you," Kaiba answered.

Mokuba looked unsatisfied with the answer. "But how does he remember some things and not others? Can people get partial amnesia?"

"I don't think it's really amnesia," Téa said. "I think somehow his real memories are mixed up with whatever dream he was having in the coma, and for some reason, his brain is blocking them out."

"Wonder why," Kaiba muttered, kicking around an old bottle cap.

Téa gave him a weary look. "He didn't block them on purpose."

"Then, shouldn't we do something to help him get them back?" Mokuba asked.

Everyone tensed and seemed to prefer watching their schoolmates milling around the empty swimming pool.

"Is that a bad idea, or something?" Mokuba continued.

Nobody answered at first. When everyone decided it was safe to make eye contact again, Téa said, "There are some things he might be better off forgetting."

Joey looked Kaiba dead in the eye. Kaiba stared back, unyieldingly.

"Okay." Mokuba still sounded unsure.

"But he needs to relearn what the real world is like, so act normal around him," Joey added.

"And don't talk about Tristan," Kaiba said bluntly, ignoring the following glare from Joey.

"What if he asks about something specific?" Mokuba asked.

"Then answer him. Unless it's about…you know." Kaiba continued to ignore Joey.

"Got it."

"Let's get going. Yugi's waiting for us," Téa said.

The four set off, Joey and Téa in the lead, Mokuba close behind and Kaiba, barely walking with the group, in the rear.

-O-o-O-

"So you're sure he's going to be up to this?" Mokuba asked as they approached the back door of the game shop. They could see a mass of spiky black and red hair through the kitchen window. Joey rang the doorbell.

"He said we could come when I walked him home," Kaiba said, craning his neck in an attempt to see the person in the window. The angle was wrong.

"Do you think all of us here will jog his memory?" Mokuba asked Téa.

"I hope it will," Téa answered. The spiky-haired figure disappeared from the window and they could hear the lock turning. In a few seconds the door opened to reveal Yami.

"Hi, guys," Yami said. His tone became arctic when his eyes fell on Kaiba. "Hello, Kaiba."

Kaiba didn't respond.

"We wanted to check on Yugi," Mokuba said.

Yami brightened considerably. "Okay, I'll go get him. Come in." He stepped aside to let the group in. Joey, Téa, and Mokuba filed through the door into the kitchen, but Kaiba hung back, staring into the alley behind the game shop.

"Aren't you coming, Kaiba?" Téa asked.

Kaiba glanced at Yami. The look Yami was giving him had dropped to Antarctic levels.

"I can't. I have…stuff to do." To Mokuba, he said, "I'll pick you up later." With that, Kaiba turned and dashed down the alley.

Yami went upstairs to get Yugi. Téa and Joey looked at Mokuba quizzically.

"He gets into these moods. He'll snap out of it," Mokuba reassured them.

Seconds later, Yugi walked into the kitchen. "Hey, everyone!" He held a rectangular, flattish object in a brown bag.

"Whatcha got there?" Joey asked.

"I found this videotape in my room, and I think it might be that one you loaned me, Joey." Yugi handed Joey the tape and went to the pantry to get a bag of chips and a large bowl.

"Oh," Joey said sheepishly, and hid the tape in his backpack.

"What movie was it?" Téa asked.

"Er…It's just some crazy game-themed hipster movie, it's not really all that good. I just loaned it to Yugi because it was so bad it was hilarious," Joey quickly explained.

"It sounds funny. What's it about?" Téa asked. Joey's facial coloring was starting to resemble Mokuba's red shirt.

"Something about blue dice." Yugi set cups and a bottle of soda on the table. "And poker, I think?"

"Hey, I think I remember that! I saw a rental movie like that one day," Mokuba said.

Joey stared at Mokuba.

"Well, not the whole thing," Mokuba admitted. "Seto shut it off when he saw me standing behind him. And it was just getting interesting. The players sounded like they were getting excited."

Téa raised an eyebrow and started pouring drinks for everyone. "Maybe I should check it out sometime."

"I just wish I could remember the funniest parts." Yugi put the bowl of chips down on the table and gestured for everyone to dig in. "So, did anything interesting happen while I was out?"

Téa, Joey, and Mokuba paused to chew and think of something unrelated to the unspeakable incident. "Bakura was found innocent!" Téa said.

Yugi sat down at the table. He was glad he hadn't actually taken a drink yet. "As in, he was arrested? Why?"

"He started hanging around with the wrong crowd," Téa started.

"And he got caught up with Ushio and the others and they all got busted for having drugs," Joey added. "I heard he wasn't actually doing drugs with them, they just asked him to hold some package. But he didn't know it was drugs and he got caught." Joey shrugged. "I'd believe it; he's pretty naïve. And Ushio was kind of asking to get caught. He sucks at hiding stuff like this."

"Bakura's dad must have been really worried," Téa said.

Yugi's mouth hung open. A hall monitor doing drugs. He'd expected as much from Ushio, but man, Domino had really gone down the tubes in terms of discipline.

"Was it weed?" Yugi asked.

"I think it was something harder," Joey said. "But I forgot what."

"Some kids at my school got caught smoking pot behind the gym, and all they got was suspended," Mokuba said. "And sometimes when I'm walking home with Seto, guys come up to us and ask him about drugs and he gets into his moods and barks at them. I think some of them hung with Ushio." He got up and looked out the window, probably for Kaiba.

Yugi noticed Yami standing quietly by the doorway, appearing to be listening. Judging by his face, Mokuba's revelation had thrown up a red flag in his mind. Yami must've seen Yugi start to turn toward him because he pretended to be looking through the bookshelf next to the door.

"Wow. I must have been really oblivious, because I don't remember anything like that going on," Yugi said.

Joey and Téa shared confused looks. "Um, actually, you were pretty aware of this stuff, Yugi," Joey said.

"Really?"

"Well, yeah. Yami tried to protect you from it, but we've definitely talked about drugs at school before," Téa said.

"You even wanted to make it better," Joey added, getting excited. "You said, 'If I could help just one of these kids out, I don't care if the school falls down tomorrow.' That's why you started hanging around with-"

Téa tapped Joey's leg with her foot. She nodded toward Mokuba, who had sat back down, but was still looking towards the window.

"Oh. Sorry." Joey turned back to Yugi. "You were really big on trying to become friends with people to help them."

"Oh, well, I remember that." Yugi said. "It's just I remember there were a lot more card games involved. I remember playing Duel Monsters with people, and usually by the end of the duel, my opponent at least respected us, if they hadn't become our friends."

"Duel Monsters sounds kinda cool. Is that one of those new games you got in the store?" Joey asked.

Yugi's jaw dropped. It seemed to be doing that a lot lately. "You don't remember Duel Monsters?"

"Nope. Should I?"

"It was only the most popular game in the world for a while! And you were only one of the top ten duelists in the whole world!"

"Huh. Really?" Joey said, intrigued. "So how did we play this game?"

"First, it was played with just the cards. Each card represented a monster and they had different attack and defense points, so you played them against each other like a poker game. But you could combine them with trap cards, and spell cards, and you could even merge two monsters into one super-strong one."

"Sounds a lot more interesting than poker." Mokuba turned away from the window and sat up straight.

"Oh, you haven't heard the half of it. It was just the bare cards first, but then there were holograms," Yugi breathed. He felt like he was in a marathon and the runner's high was just starting to kick in.

"As in, holographic cards?" Téa asked.

"Not just that. You put the cards on an image reader and it makes it like they're standing in front of you. Imagine this." Yugi could feel the energy surging through his veins. "You're standing on the duelfield, with your duel disk strapped on your arm. You're staring down the barrel of not one, but three Blue Eyes White Dragons, all salivating lightning, waiting to devour your life points. You've got barely anything in your deck that could withstand the attack, let alone take them out. The dragons are getting impatient; you can smell their toaster-in-a-bathtub breath as they loom over you, ready to end it all."

"And then?" Mokuba was on the edge of his seat.

Yugi was on a roll, now. "Then you draw your next card, the head of Exodia, the Forbidden One. You slap it down with the rest of his body, and sit back as he blows those dragons clear off the field. When the lightning, fire, and dust clears, there's no trace of the dragons."

"Nothing?" Joey's mouth barely moved. All three listeners seemed to be in a trance.

"Not even a single metal scale," Yugi intoned. "Then Exodia turns around with that crazy grin, and you know you fought a good battle. As he fades into holo-world and you round up your deck, you realize you just saw the cards come to life."

Joey, Téa, and Mokuba stared in wonder at Yugi's description.

"Holy crap. Where do we get these cards?" Joey asked reflexively.

Yugi jumped up. "I should have some in my room! I'll be right back." He flew up the stairs to find his deck.

When he was out of earshot, Joey turned to Téa. "Wait, is this the 'dueling with cards' thing he talked about?"

Téa nodded. "Yeah."

Mokuba looked sort of deflated. "So, this awesome game isn't real, is it?"

Téa sighed. "Unfortunately, no.

Joey's shoulders sagged. "Aw, man."

"Now you see why we have to be careful about how we break things to Yugi," Téa continued. "We got excited about the game, but we were let down when we realized it didn't actually exist. Yugi really truly thinks this game exists and experienced it in his dreams. On top of that, he believes that he could use the game to help others and that all these other exciting things happened, when they didn't really. He might be crushed if we tell him the truth too harshly and quickly."

"So his whole idea of reality is way off and we need to ease him back into it, sorta," Joey said.

Mokuba looked out the window again. "Are you sure it's really that off, though? It seems like the only things he's wrong about is a game and stuff at school."

Yugi came bounding back into the room, holding the unfinished Millennium Puzzle. "I couldn't find my deck anywhere! I don't know where it could be, since it's been home since I beat the Pharaoh."

Mokuba looked confused. "What Pharaoh?"

"The Pharaoh that lived in my puzzle. Anyway, I even went to the back room, but I couldn't find any Duel monster cards there, either. We must be all sold out."

Mokuba stared. Téa and Joey gave him a look reminding him to proceed delicately.

"So, did the Pharaoh live in that puzzle, or…"

"He used to. But now, for some reason, he lives down the hall from me. He doesn't respond when I call him 'Atem,' though. He only answers to 'Yami.'"

"But I thought that was his name," Mokuba said quietly.

"I did, too, for a while, until we went to Egypt and learned who he really was."

Mokuba tittered nervously. "That's…that's kind of funny."

"But do you want to know the coolest thing about Duel Monsters and the holograms and everything?"

Mokuba sounded more reluctant than excited. "I guess?"

"The guy who made the cards come to life. He is, without a doubt, the smartest person in Domino. His hologram technology made Duel Monsters what it is."

"He must be pretty smart to do all that," Joey said. "Who was he?"

Yugi beamed. "Seto Kaiba."

-O-o-O-

Yami sat silently outside the kitchen doorway. There had been a good five minutes of silence in there, and Yami knew exactly why.

"I might have underestimated just how much Yugi forgot," he thought. "I'll definitely need help setting him straight, more help than Grandpa can give me."

He peered into the room. Téa, Joey, and Mokuba were still sitting there, looking like Yugi had grown another set of limbs.

"I don't think I've read enough to deal with this right now." Yami went back upstairs to continue combing his psychology-related search results for ideas.

Back in the kitchen, Yugi looked from Téa to Joey to Mokuba. "Um, guys?" He waved his hands in front of their faces. They couldn't stay like that forever, could they? Maybe it wasn't shock; maybe there was still Shadow Magic afoot.

But why would it be a shock to them? They may not remember Duel Monsters that well but they had to remember KaibaCorp. Mokuba was the vice-president, so he of all people should not be surprised.

"Did…did you say that Kaiba was behind all that?" Joey finally asked.

"He didn't make up the game, but he made the holograms," Yugi said, not sure if he should repeat it after their initial reaction.

"I really hate to break it to you, Yugi, but," Mokuba started, "I don't think that's how things turned out."

Yugi just stared. "But he had a company and you helped him run it," he said weakly.

Mokuba glanced at Téa and Joey as if to say, "Now I see what you're talking about."

"I-I don't understand how you could forget," Yugi whispered.

Mokuba sighed and looked at Téa. "We have to tell him now. It's only right."

"But it's too sudden," Téa protested.

"Then I'll just tell him this one thing." Mokuba turned back to Yugi. "Seto doesn't run a company."

Yugi blinked. "But the games…"

"Duel Monsters isn't a real game," Joey added. "And that's a damn shame. Hey, that rhymed!"

Yugi was too distracted to notice Joey's attempt to lighten the mood. "Why am I the only one who remembers?"

"It doesn't mean you're crazy," Téa rushed to reassure him. "You were injured, so your memory is probably pretty fuzzy."

"But why does everything seem so real." Yugi looked out the window. He could see Kaiba approaching the back door. "Doesn't Kaiba at least invent something or do anything with technology that he just hasn't put out there?"

"Well…" Mokuba thought for a while. "There's what he calls his 'White Dragon.'"

Yugi perked up again. "The Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

"I guess its headlights kinda look like eyes," Mokuba said. "I don't know if they're blue."

"He'll know what I'm talking about." Yugi ran to the door and threw it open before Kaiba could knock. "You remember your Blue Eyes, right?"

Kaiba looked down at Yugi, looking slightly perplexed. "Every time I look in a mirror."

"I mean, your White Dragon," Yugi pressed.

"Why would I forget that?" Kaiba asked wearily.

"See? He remembers dueling!" Yugi practically shouted. "And the Pharaoh's magic!"

"Pharaoh's magic…What kind of hocus-pocus nonsense is that?" Kaiba asked dismissively.

"That's exactly what you'd say, too!" Yugi was on the verge of jumping up and down, and possibly hugging Kaiba. He wasn't sure why the latter impulse crossed his mind.

Kaiba seemed not to notice. "Time to go, Mokuba."

Mokuba sulked. "But I was just starting to understand."

"You have homework, and I'd rather you be at home. All the kids in gangs are out now," Kaiba said.

"Okay," Mokuba said grudgingly. He slid off his chair and grabbed his backpack. "See you later." He waved as Kaiba hustled him out the door.

Yugi sat down at the kitchen table. "So was it really Bakura who was hanging around the druggies, or was it the Millennium Ring spirit?"

-O-o-O-

Mokuba looked down the grey streets in front of them.

"What is Seto so worried about?" he thought. "There isn't even anyone out."

"Stay alert," Kaiba said. He grabbed Mokuba's shoulder to keep him from getting too far ahead.

The kids were probably all holed up in that abandoned house down the street. Even if they came out, they probably wouldn't notice the brothers. And the dangerous gangs tended not to come out until after dark. Mokuba didn't see why they had to hurry home so soon.

The two brothers had just turned onto Poker Street and their own block when they ran into Bandit Keith.

"Keep moving," Kaiba grunted to Mokuba. They both quickened their pace as Mokuba tried to sneak a few glances back at Keith.

"Yeah, just act like I don't exist. You wouldn't be hanging with that runt Yugi if I wasn't there that night," Keith yelled.

"What's he talking about, Seto?" Mokuba asked.

"You don't need to know. Keep walking," Kaiba growled. Keith followed them down the block.

"No, I think he needs to know why the cops camped in your backyard for a week," Keith pressed. He leaned down to Mokuba's level. "You know what your big brother's been doing when you're not there?"

Kaiba yanked Mokuba away from Keith. "I'm damn sure you don't know either."

"Seto, what is he-"

"Nothing." Kaiba's grip on Mokuba's arm tightened. He turned back to Keith. "What do you want from me? Why don't you screw off?"

"Because you're an ungrateful bitch!" Keith fired back.

Mokuba looked up at Kaiba, who looked at the ground. Suddenly, Kaiba picked him up and ran down the block. Mokuba held onto Kaiba's shoulders for dear life. He could see Keith stomp down the block in the opposite direction.

Only when they were safely inside the house did Kaiba put Mokuba down.

-O-o-O-

Yami was about to take a bite of his taco when he noticed Yugi, staring at him from across the table. What exactly was he looking for?

After the Kaiba brothers left, Yami had gone back downstairs. He pretended to be getting a book, but he was actually listening to their conversation. Téa had changed the subject to summer vacation, but the tension remained. Every time Yugi brought up how much dueling he was going to do, the conversation ground to a halt. Eventually, everyone decided they had to do their homework (even Joey, surprisingly), and Yami went back to posting questions on psychology message boards.

He hadn't gotten any responses yet. People probably thought he was a troll. Yami had to admit that the problem was kind of unbelievable. He almost didn't post those questions, but it wasn't like Yugi was going to see the online history. He didn't use their names, anyway.

He knew it had to be a psychological problem, not a physical one. Yugi's memory loss was too selective, and Yami could see why Yugi might want to forget some of the events of the past few months. What he couldn't figure out was how Yugi's brain constructed this dream world. That probably didn't matter so much, but Yami couldn't help wondering how Yugi's subconscious decided what to change.

He'd decided to call it a day when it was time for dinner. He couldn't stop thinking about the situation, though, since Yugi sat there, staring at him eating for nearly the whole meal.

"How are you doing that?" Yugi finally asked.

"What?" Yami asked.

"You know. Eating," Yugi answered, as if that was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Um…By chewing and swallowing?" Yugi's Pharaoh would've had to eat, right?

"But you used to be a ghost," Yugi said. "How did you get a body?"

Yami took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I've always had one. Because I never died."

"I guess Kaiba really has to believe you're real, now."

Yami looked at Yugi sideways. "What do you mean by that?"

Yugi froze, seeming reluctant. "Nothing. He just didn't think you were." Yugi looked down at his plate for the next few minutes.

Yami stabbed at his food with his fork. He tried hard not to remember the screaming fight he'd had with Kaiba and Yugi a few weeks ago, but Yugi's words brought it to the front of his mind.

Yami had been reading in the kitchen when Yugi came running through the door, with Kaiba close behind him. Yami dropped his book; Yugi's nose was gushing blood, and his clothes looked like someone dragged him through the dirt. Kaiba was also unkempt, though Yami barely noticed, and he had a few bruises. What really gave Yami pause was the broken bottle Kaiba clutched in one hand.

"What happened?" Yami asked. He ran to the sink to get wet paper towels. It was all he could do to not lose it.

"We had some trouble on the way back from Kaiba's, but we're safe now," Yugi said. Kaiba threw the broken bottle in the trash can and washed his hands.

"What do you mean, 'had some trouble?' Why are you all beat up?" Yami pressed. He rummaged through the cabinet for the peroxide. This better not have been the result of an argument.

"Some thugs walked up to me, so we fought them. Big deal." Kaiba dried his hands.

Yami slammed the peroxide bottle on the counter. "What the hell, Kaiba? If your brother came home, bleeding, would you act like it's normal?"

"Yami, he was only trying to help," Yugi started.

From there, it dissolved into a shouting and cursing match. Yami's memory of their exact words was fuzzy at around that point. He'd tried hard to forget most of the week surrounding that afternoon. He hated to admit it, but Kaiba had a good idea, telling everyone not to talk about that week. However, the words Yami was most ashamed of were the ones seared into his mind.

"You're a bad influence, Kaiba," he'd yelled. "Yugi wouldn't be in a position to get beaten up if he weren't hanging around you and your trashy attitude."

He wished he could take the words back because Kaiba seemed to lose whatever energy he was using to curse Yami out. For a split second, Yami could see how much he'd hurt Kaiba, and no amount of rubber band aversion therapy could stop him from thinking of it.

Kaiba gave a weak laugh before his face hardened again. "You think you're so noble when you treat him like a child. Quit lying to yourself and drop that fake 'hero' crap." With that, Kaiba ran out the door.

Weeks later, Kaiba's words still hurt. Yami started to wonder: was his concern for his brother genuine, or was it just an excuse to retaliate for all Kaiba had done and put himself above everyone? Was Yami as "real" as he thought he was? Further, how could Yami consider himself any kind of decent person when he was capable of hurting people like that? He'd practically called Kaiba trash. What if he'd slipped up and, in anger, said something like that to Joey, or worse, to Tristan?

Yami stared into his food, futilely trying to erase the memories of that week. He knew he'd hurt Kaiba, and that was bad, but he couldn't trust him, either. What if he was planting thoughts in Yugi's head? It was a stretch, but… There he went again—he just couldn't stop blacklisting people for one second.

But at the end of the day, he had to protect Yugi.

-O-o-O-o-O-


	5. Consorting with Kaiba

Here's chapter five. There are mentions of drugs (but nothing graphic). I would also like to say that even though the characters refer to the canon universe as "the dream world" and this alternate universe as "reality," I'm not saying that I think the show was wrong, and I'm not saying that I could write it better than the actual writers of the show (just in case this whole story concept comes off as cocky). I definitely believe the actual writers are more qualified to write the show than I am, and I mean no disrespect to the canon of the show.

-O-o-O-o-O-

That Saturday afternoon, Yugi stared at the unfinished, plastic Millennium Puzzle. Nothing made sense anymore. Absolutely nothing. There had to be some reason that only he and Kaiba could remember their old lives. Maybe it was so they didn't forget their intertwined destinies?

He'd woken up that morning, went into the bathroom to get ready, and found Yami brushing his teeth. Yami was still corporeal, and he had teeth that he needed to brush. Yugi had gone back to his room. He didn't think it would be very respectful to use the toilet in front of the Pharaoh.

He'd gone to his dresser to get his clothes and encountered the puzzle. The puzzle, in its own way, made sense. He only had to put the last piece in. It was right there on the desk, unlike in the other life, when it was at the bottom of the school's pool. He could finish it so easily.

But what if he put the last piece in and nothing happened? That would mean what he remembered really was a dream. He never saved all those people, never met the Pharaoh (the one who knew he was a Pharaoh, anyway), never proved himself in a fight, never stood up to Kaiba.

Kaiba. Yugi's head snapped up. If anyone could bring him back to reality, if anyone could tell him what was real and what was a fantasy, it had to be Kaiba. He didn't care what Yami said; after all they'd been through, how dangerous could associating with Kaiba be?

He went downstairs for the phone book. He'd just dragged the phone book down from the shelf when he realized the flaw in his plan. Kaiba wouldn't have a listed phone number! He'd want to keep away all the crazies who'd be after his company and his cards (and possibly his brother). He decided to look for KaibaCorp's number instead.

Solomon entered the room. "Are you looking for someone?"

"I need to call Kaiba, but I don't think he's in the phone book," Yugi answered. He paged through the business section to no avail. KaibaCorp wasn't listed either. He shut the book and shoved it away. Wouldn't Kaiba want people to find his company number?

Solomon's brow furrowed. "I believe he is, under 'K,'" he said. Yugi couldn't figure out why he sounded so confused. Surely he didn't think Kaiba would be that accessible.

"But that doesn't matter." Solomon continued as he went into the game shop's front room. "You won't need the phonebook because his phone number should be on the board by the phone."

Yugi looked up at the corkboard on the wall. Sure enough, there were several colorful squares covered in phone numbers and names. Towards the bottom was a blue sticky note with "KAIBA" written across the top.

"Oh. Of course." Yugi said, but he was really wondering how he got his hands on Kaiba's home phone number. Usually, Kaiba called him, not the other way around.

He picked up the phone and dialed. He was caught off guard when the phone rang several times before he heard the familiar voice answer, "Yeah?"  
>"Um…this is Yugi." Didn't Kaiba have a secretary? Or at least, caller ID?<p>

"What's this about?"

Yugi was shocked at how informal the voice on the other end sounded. "Um…"

"Well? I don't think you called to run up your phone bill." Was Kaiba attempting inoffensive humor?

"I didn't. I know you're really busy, but I need a reality check and I need you to give it to me. And maybe afterwards, we could duel." Kaiba couldn't resist that.

"Hmm. You really think you need that?"

"I know I do. I can't be a worthy opponent if I don't know fact from fiction, can I?" Yugi said.

There was a short pause. "I'm coming over there." With that, Kaiba hung up.

Yugi stood for a good half-minute, holding the receiver. Was Kaiba serious? He was actually coming to Yugi, rather than making Yugi come to him?

The busy signal blared. Yugi hung up the receiver. A few minutes later, the back doorbell rang.

Yugi looked out the window. "That was fast," he thought. He let Kaiba in, but ducked out of the doorway for a few seconds. He craned his neck to look down the street then went back inside.

"What are you looking for?" Kaiba asked.

"How did you get here?" Yugi asked.

Kaiba looked at Yugi quizzically. "I walked."

"Oh. It was just fast, that's all." Yugi then noticed Kaiba's appearance. A plain black t-shirt, worn overalls, and battered black work boots were not his usual dueling attire. They certainly weren't business wear. "Where's your trench coat?"

Kaiba gave him a stare blanker than his t-shirt. "What are you talking about?"

"Did you leave it in your limo?"

Kaiba continued to stare until he gave a short laugh. "Ha! Good one, Yugi."

Yugi wasn't aware he'd made a joke. "Let's go in the living room."

Kaiba followed Yugi into the living room and onto the couch. Yugi wasn't sure if this was part of the reality check or if Kaiba was trying to psych him out before their duel, but Kaiba was sitting awfully close. He was sitting as close to Yugi as he sat to Mokuba (at least in public). They were barely a foot apart; the closest he could remember getting to Kaiba was about a foot and a half. The only other time they'd been this close was when Kaiba had grabbed Yugi by the collar on the boat to the Temple.

Had Yugi forgotten just how "complicated" their relationship really was?

"So, by reality check, what do you mean?" Kaiba asked.

Yugi struggled to put a finger on it. "Well…Like the ones you always give. Y'know, 'magic isn't real,' 'the Shadow Realm is hocus-pocus nonsense,' 'this is how the real world works.' Stuff like that."

"What's a Shadow Realm?" Kaiba asked.

Yugi gaped. "You don't remember?"

"I've never heard of it. But you're right; I would think it was just a dumb magic trick. Or something people say to scare kids." Kaiba's eyes were hidden in the shadows of his bangs as his expression suddenly became serious. "Don't do drugs, or you're going to the Shadow Realm."

Yugi shuddered. Kaiba sounded possessed, almost the way Bakura had when the spirit of the Ring was in control. "You're scaring me." He edged away a little. "You're also acting kind of weird about this."

"This is the first time you've told me about it, so of course my reaction to it seems weird."

"But…" Yugi struggled to gather his memories, which were growing fuzzier, despite having written them down. "You were sent to the Shadow Realm. So was your brother. You went all the way to Duelist Kingdom, on some remote island, to get him back."

Kaiba was expressionless. This couldn't be a good sign. Either Yugi had offended him by bringing up the memory or he really didn't remember.

"And in Battle City, Marik kept opening the Shadow Realm, so we ended up dueling in it. All that time, you kept saying it was all a mind trick and claiming that the holograms were malfunctioning."

Kaiba continued to stare impassively.

Yugi took a deep breath. Was he too late? Was the universe erasing Kaiba's memory as he spoke? "You know, you created this technology that projected holograms of Duel Monsters. But it kept getting manipulated by Shadow Magic, and the Shadow Realm was where the losing duelist usually went. And sometimes we even dueled there, but you never wanted to believe there was any magic involved, even when you got your soul sucked out—twice! It wasn't until we went to Egypt that you started to believe." Yugi looked at Kaiba for any kind of response. "Don't you remember any of that?"

Kaiba shook his head. "But you're right about one thing; I don't believe in magic."

Yugi sat back, bewildered. Kaiba didn't remember the hell they'd gone through with Pegasus, Marik, Dartz, and all the others. Was this a side effect of the Millennium Items' destruction? Maybe the Pharaoh really had asked whichever deity was in charge of the universe to wipe everyone's memory of the events so they didn't need years of therapy. If so, why hadn't he wiped Yugi's?

"Let's just play," Yugi gave in.

"What do you mean by that?" Kaiba looked at Yugi sideways.

"You know." Yugi went through his pockets to get the substitute cards he'd made that morning. It bothered him that he still couldn't find his real deck. "Did you bring your deck?"

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "Is that a euphemism or something?"

Yugi sighed. "It's a game, Kaiba."

"Like a sex game?" Kaiba sneered. "What the hell, Yugi?"

Yugi stared. "What're you even—"

"I thought you understood I'm not that kind of guy." Kaiba sat back and folded his arms. "Do you think I'm some cheap piece of trash now? Does Yami control your thoughts, too?"

"I'm talking about dueling!" Yugi was practically yelling. "It's a card game!" He held up his makeshift cards.

Kaiba blinked. "Oh." He looked at the deck.

"I thought maybe we could play," Yugi said. He moved away from Kaiba a little. "What did you think I was talking about?"

Kaiba gave Yugi a withering look. "I thought you were trying to have sex with me."

Yugi stared at Kaiba for a few seconds. "Why would I want to do that?"

"Because I'm your boyfriend."

Yugi blacked out.

-O-o-O-

He was in a grey room—at least, he thought it was a room. Either he was outside on a humid day or in a room with an overactive fog machine. He couldn't imagine how he might have ended up here.

He looked down noticing the heaviness of his left arm; or maybe he could imagine. Maybe he'd somehow fallen asleep while dueling. Maybe he'd gotten knocked out by one of the holograms and the previous few days were all a dream. Or maybe he was back in the Shadow Realm, only, since the dark forces were defeated, it was lighter and softer now.

"Yugi." He could hear Kaiba's voice across a wide expanse, but there was no sign of him. Not even an outline in the fog.

"Yugi!" He sounded worried. Maybe Mokuba was in trouble.

"Where are you, Kaiba?" Yugi tried to call, but he had no voice. He felt a slap of wind against his face.

"Yugi, wake up!" Kaiba sounded like he was right next to Yugi, but Yugi still could not see any trace of him.

Yugi opened his eyes just in time to see Kaiba's hand coming towards his face. The impact was less painful than he thought it'd be.

He was lying on the floor of his living room. There was no fog, not even outside. He looked down at his arm; the duel disk had vanished.

He looked up at Kaiba, who was kneeling over him. He was still wearing the same clothes and, more disturbingly, seemed to be leaning over Yugi in a way that suggested intimacy, his eyes wild like he'd just won a duel.

"K-Kaiba?" Yugi started. "What's going on?"

Kaiba didn't break eye contact. "I thought I'd lost you again," he said quietly. He backed off a little, but he didn't take his eyes off Yugi. "Don't ever do that again."

Yugi climbed back on the couch. "It's not like I had a choice," he muttered.

Kaiba got back on the couch. "Didn't think you were going soft on me. Why are you so shocked?"

Yugi just stared. "I don't remember you liking me like that. I don't even really remember you liking me all that much, period."

Kaiba blinked. "Seriously?"

"I couldn't decide if you wanted to duel me or destroy me," Yugi continued. "I mean, you pretty much hated me after our first fight. You seemed to cool down for a while after Duelist Kingdom, and I thought we could be friends, but then you seemed to get angry at me again, and…" Yugi looked at the carpet. "I don't know what happened."

He looked back up at Kaiba, who appeared to remember. Kaiba looked slightly remorseful.

"Maybe I shouldn't have brought that up," Yugi thought. "Clearly we're friends if I have his phone number. I could've rephrased that so it didn't bring up the past."

Kaiba was no longer looking at him, but past him, with a thousand-mile stare. Yugi regretted his choice of words even more. He hadn't expected it to hurt Kaiba this much.

Suddenly, Kaiba refocused his eyes on Yugi. "You remember the fights but you don't remember anything else." Yugi couldn't be sure, it sounded like there was a hint of disappointment in Kaiba's voice

"I'm sure I could remember something if I tried. You did seem to hate me less sometime before the accident," Yugi said quickly. He was starting to wish he'd just skipped straight to the game.

"I thought we'd settled things. I thought you'd at least remember we were friends." Kaiba averted his eyes. "I thought I could trust you." He snickered softly. "How could I be so stupid?"

The blank stare was back. Yugi hurried to think of something to ease the tension. "You're not stupid. I got my memories mixed up, that's all." Yugi never thought he'd be the one doubting his friendship with Kaiba. Wasn't this what he wanted all along? He ran his hands through his bangs. "I just need you to help me remember some things."

Kaiba turned his eyes back on Yugi. Before Yugi could say anything, Kaiba grabbed him by the shoulders and quickly kissed him on the lips. It wasn't as sensual as it looked when other people did it, being slightly longer than a peck. But the force of it caused Yugi to wonder why he would ever think Kaiba's behavior was a trick.

Yugi caught his breath as Kaiba disengaged and sat back. "Do you remember now?" Kaiba asked wearily.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Both Yugi and Kaiba looked up at the stairs to find Yami glowering down at them.

"Not this again." Kaiba sat back and folded his arms.

"So you're toying with Yugi again." Yami said. "Don't you think you've done enough damage?"

"I asked him to come over," Yugi said. He glanced at Kaiba, who stared straight ahead.

"I don't care. Kaiba, do you really think planting these crazy ideas about dueling and me being transparent—and don't think I don't know what you really mean by that—is going to do you any good? You can't erase what you've said and done over the past months. Things don't work like that."

Kaiba's expression went from annoyed to angrily wounded. "Do you really think I planted those memories?"

Yami's eyes narrowed. "What else would you be doing in the hospital?"

Yugi gaped. Yami had such little faith in Kaiba. What went on between these two to make them hate each other so much?

"I don't need this shit." Kaiba got up and headed for the door. Yugi watched as Kaiba slammed it behind him.

Yami looked back at Yugi. "I think you need to pick your friends more wisely," he warned. "You can't save everyone." He turned to go upstairs.

Yugi stared at Yami's retreating figure before jumping over the back of the couch and running out the door. He didn't look back to see if Yami followed him.

He spotted Kaiba walking down the street and ran to catch up to him. "Kaiba!"

Kaiba stopped. "What do you want?"

Yugi came to a stop a couple feet behind him. "I want to talk to you."

"You tried that and look how it turned out." Kaiba started walking again.

"I don't think you planted those memories and I don't think you're trying to trick me," Yugi said.

Kaiba scoffed. "Of course you wouldn't."

"No, really, I don't." Yugi grabbed Kaiba's arm. Kaiba stiffened, but didn't pull away. "I just need to clear some things up with you."

Kaiba looked back up the street. "We can't go back there and we can't stay out here. Where would we go?"

Yugi shifted uneasily at the huge favor he was about to ask. "Why not your place?"

Kaiba turned away. "You don't want to go there."

"We could try the library."

Kaiba looked at the ground. "That's even worse." He kicked an empty cigarette carton into the gutter. He looked Yugi in the eye. "Do you really need to talk about the real world?"

Yugi nodded. "Of course."

"And you really want to go in my neighborhood?"

"Yeah." What could Kaiba have against his own house?

"Then follow me." Kaiba started towards Poker Street. Yugi walked beside him.

-O-o-O-

Kaiba led Yugi to a block of worn frame houses. Yugi wondered if most of the neighborhood was in some sort of contest to see who could grow the longest grass without watering. He could hear stray cats and dogs scampering through the brown grass. Yugi realized that the grass did get watered when he saw a guy urinating off the back of his porch. Further down the block, he could see kids from Domino High going into a much older-looking house, led by Bandit Keith. Bottles of liquor and brown paper bags (most likely containing weed) were in plain sight, but nobody seemed to care.

Judging by his stiffened neck, Kaiba seemed to be going out of his way to ignore that last detail. Yugi wondered why Bandit Keith was even in this neighborhood.

Kaiba turned down the battered concrete path to a white house with an awning that resembled a pediment. Yugi followed him up the wooden steps and onto the porch. He noticed that the exterior of this house was one of the cleanest on the block.

Kaiba unlocked the screen door and gingerly pulled it open. "Careful. It might fall off," he told Yugi as they entered.

Yugi looked around while Kaiba shut the screen door and the opaque door. The inside was as clean as the outside, much like the Kaiba house from his other life (he still wasn't ready to call it a dream). He wasn't exactly sure how the Kaiba boys lived on their own. Was Kaiba so smart, he already knew the appropriate ways to raise Mokuba? What did they do for food? More importantly, why was Kaiba here and not in some big, fancy mansion?

"I didn't expect you home so early."

Yugi and Kaiba turned to the green-haired boy descending the stairs. Yugi froze. This kid was the spitting image of Noah, that psychotic computer boy in the underwater base, only older and much taller. Yugi hoped Noah hadn't traded in his deck for fisticuffs.

Kaiba glanced over and saw Yugi's bugged out eyes. He rolled his eyes at the older boy. "It's just Noah."

"Great. You're going to corrupt him, aren't you?" Noah descended the stairs. He stared down his nose at Kaiba, only giving a quick glance at Yugi.

"What does that even mean. He's older than me, anyway," Kaiba muttered.

"Whatever you're doing, I'm not going to be around to hear—or smell—it. Mokuba!" Noah called up the stairs then went to get his jacket from the closet.

"Yelling so the whole world can hear," Kaiba grumbled, plodding into the kitchen. He took two beers out of the fridge. He offered one to Yugi, who turned it down.

Noah turned around. "You shouldn't be drinking those."

"They're non-alcoholic." Kaiba knocked back a good quarter of the bottle.

Mokuba came down the stairs. "Did you call me?" he asked, giving a small wave to Yugi.

"We're going to the library," Noah said, grabbing his backpack from the couch.

Mokuba made a face. "But I want to stay here with Seto and Yugi."

Yugi watched. Surely Kaiba would have something to say about all this.

"No, I think it's better if you come with me. You have homework and I think Seto's going to need some 'alone time.'" Noah shot Kaiba a look dripping with disdain. Kaiba appeared not to notice.

Mokuba turned around. "Seto?"

Kaiba turned to face him. "Go do your homework, kid." He took a swig of his beer.

Mokuba sighed. "Okay."

When the two had left, Yugi stood, watching the door. Kaiba was just going to let that go? Clearly, quite a lot had changed during the month that Yugi was out. And why was Noah alive and well instead of in some computer file in the ocean?

"Are you gonna stare at the door all day, or are you gonna talk to me?" Kaiba asked.

Yugi sat down next to him. "You're going to let him go with Noah, just like that?"

Kaiba took another drink. "Yeah, why not? He has homework."

"But after all he's done?"

"He may be a pretentious douche, but he'll do a better job of helping Mokuba at school than I ever would."

"You call trapping everyone in a virtual world and stealing people's bodies 'being a pretentious douche?'"

Kaiba's next sip of beer ended up on the table, via his nose. "What?"

Yugi backed away in his chair. "Oh! I forgot. We weren't supposed to discuss that."

Kaiba stared at him, then guzzled another quarter of his beer. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Yugi looked away. "Nothing. I must be getting my memories mixed up again," he said, his face burning.

Kaiba looked at Yugi sideways. "Right. Now you see why I rarely brought you home; you'd have to deal with him." Kaiba massaged the bridge of his nose. "It's like he got all the perfect genes and I got screwed, as usual."

"Wait, so Noah's not your adoptive brother?"

"Why would you think that?" Kaiba sounded one sentence from a rage. "Am I such a screw-up that we couldn't possibly be related?"

"No, it's just…" Yugi started quickly. "He has green hair and you have brown hair."

"Oh." Kaiba sat back in his chair.

"Then Gozaburo didn't jump to his death after you won a bet against him?"

Kaiba nearly fell off his chair. "No, and are you trying to make me fall to mine?" He slammed his beer down on the table. "Don't you remember anything? He's in jail! Everyone at school talked about it for weeks. Were you deaf?"

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't realize…"

Kaiba exhaled shakily, trying to calm down. "You forgot. Right. What other crazy dreams did you have when you were in the coma?"

Yugi looked away. "Just nothing."

"No, I want to know. I can't promise I won't laugh, but I want to know."

"Okay," Yugi started reluctantly. "You and I played this card game against each other. But they weren't friendly games at all. In fact, I kept winning and you hated me for it. Then I lost to someone else and you hated me for losing to him. This someone else was the ghost of a Pharaoh who'd lost his memories and was living in my mind. It turned out that I was the Pharaoh in a past life and you were my priest and we played the same card game in ancient Egypt, only instead of cards, we used magical stone tablets. And because we played the game back then, we were destined to do it over and over."

Kaiba continued to drink his beer, not taking his eyes off Yugi. Yugi took this as a cue to continue.

"Also, there were these artifacts that contained the souls of a village my past self killed. One of them was a puzzle shaped like a pyramid, and that was where the Pharaoh's ghost lived when he wasn't in my head. He came out to play with you pretty much every time we played. I called him Yami, but his real name was Atem. And the gold artifacts could steal people's souls and put them back."

Kaiba stared at Yugi. He pushed the unopened bottle toward him. "I think you need this more than I do," he said.

"But it was all so real," Yugi said, feeling his enthusiasm deflate.

Kaiba blinked. "It's real interesting."

Yugi looked up, his excitement renewed. "Oh, it is. You were the best at the game. You were so much smarter than everyone else."

Kaiba snickered. "I think the Domino public school system would disagree with you there."

"You were really committed to playing the game well. Your favorite Monster was the Blue Eyes White Dragon. Your whole business was based around it," Yugi desperately tried to explain. He had the strangest feeling that he wasn't trying to convince just Kaiba.

"I had a business in your dream? Hah!" Kaiba's soft laugh was tinged with sadness. "Was I doing the oldest profession?"

"No, you were all about the brand-new. You sold this super-advanced technology with holograms and gaming devices that read the cards and made them come to life." Yugi was surprised at how excited he was to describe these things to Kaiba. "Everyone wanted to be associated with you."

Kaiba grimaced weakly. "Sounds great. But in this world, the Kaiba name isn't worth the dirt it's been dragged through."

Yugi's shoulders sagged in frustration. "But why not?"

"Because we're trash," Kaiba said quietly. He took another drink. "People talk and it makes them feel better about their own pathetic lives. My family makes everyone feel superior because we're at the bottom." Kaiba finished his beer.

Yugi could almost feel his mind explode. "Why are you at the bottom?"

"Because my father is a drug dealer and I'm a failure."

"But…that doesn't matter," Yugi offered lamely.

"Then why don't you take half the neighborhood to your meth lab, then try to convince people you're still respectable? Let me know how that turns out." Kaiba sat back in his chair and stared at the floor. "Forget I said anything."

Yugi didn't know what to say. Kaiba was involved with drugs. So he might not be doing so great in school. That didn't matter much, since grades didn't always reflect intelligence. Yugi could even see why Kaiba wouldn't be a teenage billionaire if he grew up poor. With raising Mokuba, possibly working a low-wage job, and dealing with household issues, Kaiba might not have the time or energy to start a large business. Further, he could see why Kaiba would sell drugs; maybe he was desperate to make ends meet and had no choice.

But there were many more things Yugi couldn't figure out, at least not without several more hours to think. Why did Yugi place Kaiba in that position in his dream if the reality was far from that? What were the full details of the situation? More importantly, how did Kaiba end up hanging around Yugi and his friends if none of those adventures happened?

Yugi remembered Joey's comment about helping kids involved with drugs, then immediately replayed Yami's warning: "You can't save everyone." Though he still didn't remember his life outside of the coma dream, he was beginning to understand what might have happened before the accident and why everyone was so reluctant to tell him anything about it.

Kaiba grabbed the second bottle of beer and yanked the cap off. "So, about this Blue Eyes White Dragon...Could it match my actual White Dragon?"

Yugi shrugged. "You have a real White Dragon?"

Kaiba gave Yugi a look. "My White Dragon is my car."

-O-o-O-o-O-


End file.
